Yin and Yang
by Fatalsam
Summary: *Sequel to The Sorcerer Games* It's been five years since Merlin survived the Games. When recent patrols have been murdered, and people are looking for Emrys, what will Merlin do? And what does this happen to do with the kingdom of Arudus? (Takes place after season 4.)
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_

 _ **well here it is! The sequel! This isn't my best work but it'll have to do for a first chapter. This takes place after season four, so everything that had happened before that remains. The title has a meaning, and I know this goes by fast but, as u all know I'm terrible at adding detail. Anyway, hope you enjoy! AND PLSSS REVIEW!**_

 _ **btw I'm also posting another fic while I'm doing this one so I'm sorry if it takes longer to post chapters this time. Check it out if you don't mind merthur slash.**_

 _ **This is strictly a friendship fic btw. I still haven't decided if I want Gwen to be queen in this or Arthur to just be single. I'm sorry but I dislike Arwen a lot. Well, tell me what u think.**_

* * *

"Council meeting in season," Arthur declared. As soon as he was seated, the others willingly followed. "Sir Leon, reports."

The ever gallant knight stood up from his seat at the round table. All heads turned to him at the sound of a chair leg scraping against the hard wood floor. He took a swift look around the room at his comrades, searching for anyone that would give him reassurance for what he was about to say.

Unluckily, everyone's faces were set in stone.

Leon straightened his posture and cleared his throat before addressing his king

When he met Arthur's eyes he finally found what he had been looking for. His eyes were full of understanding and sorrow. Just like he, the king knew what he was going to report. They had just hoped it wouldn't have happened again but unfortunately, it had.

Arthur gave him a brief nod of encouragement.

"Sire," he acknowledged, "This morning, the patrol that scouted the north in the darkling woods did not come back on time."

Arthur seemed to be thinking for a moment, brows furrowed in deep concentration. Eventually he nodded, speaking with a tone that was underlined with worry.

"Sir Leon, I want you, Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival to venture out towards the north, see if you can find them."

Leon bowed, replying with a "yes sire," as three more sounds of scraping chairs filled the room.

The king watched as his best Knights filed out, waiting until the throne room doors shut behind them before proceeding.

Little did he notice someone slip out through the servants entryway.

"Next order of business."

* * *

Merlin ran through the halls ignoring the amusing glances he got from servants passing by. He took a few detours until he finally saw who he was looking for.

"Gwaine!" He called out.

At the sound of his name, the knight halted to a stop and waited until Merlin caught up.

"Guys." The rogue knight spoke out, drawing Percival, Elyan, and Leon's attention.

The Knights all turned around just as Merlin reached his friends.

"I'm coming with you," he said, a little out of breath.

Leon took a step forward.

"Did Arthur send you?"

Merlin stilled for a moment, the action caused Gwaine to grin. Guilt was written all over his face.

"No Leon, he snuck out."

Leon turned wide eyes on Merlin.

"You can not just leave the King unattended Merlin, what if he needs a drink?"

The warlock tried really hard not to laugh out loud, but ended up betraying himself in the end.

Gwaine's face became a bright red, and it wasn't long before he too burst out with a bark of laughter.

Elyan chuckled while Percival just smiled.

The only one who didn't find it funny was Leon.

"I don't see why that statement was so funny." Leon grumbled, "Serving the king is an honor, just being able to stand so close to him should be valued."

Merlin couldn't take it anymore.

The warlock fell to his knees, clutching his stomach as he tried to fit in gasps of breath during his laughter.

He was laughing so hard he could no longer make any noise.

"I-It hurts," he giggled, "my stomach h-hurts."

"What if he needs a drink!" Gwaine exclaimed before bending forward and laughing more. "An honor!"

Percival finally broke, his laughter was a low rumble, bellowing throughout the hallway. A couple servants stared at the spectacle while others simply pretended to ignore them.

Leon's face resembled a very ripe tomato. He angrily turned around and trudged away, leaving the other four men in his wake.

"C-come back!" Merlin managed to get out in between laughs. "We didn't mean it!" His smile faded when the Knight refused to stop. "Leon!"

* * *

The north trail was silent. Merlin saw no life other than the horses and their riders. There were no songs sung by the birds, no buzzing from the bees, or rustle of the wind. It was as if nature had gone into hiding.

It was a beautiful day. The sun was out and there was barely a trace of any clouds in the sky other than a few wisps of white here and there. The sun's rays shined down on the group, boring into their skin and heating up the chain metal which lay on most of their upper body. Sweat collected on their chests and at the smalls of their backs. Their long sleeves seemed to trap in the heat.

They had been riding for a few miles and there was still no sign of the morning patrol.

Merlin tried to quash the nervous feeling that had settled in the pit of his stomach but ultimately it couldn't be ignored. Something was wrong, and from the many years of instinctively knowing when something bad was about to happen he knew he was right. He needed to be on high alert the whole time.

He blocked out the sounds of Gwaine's endless prattle and the clatter of hoof beats. Instead he focused on breathing in the fresh air, spreading out his magic in all directions.

The magic sent chills up the spines of the Knights and made the hair on their bodies stand up on end, but without the knowledge of knowing when magic filled the air, they were completely oblivious.

Merlin tended to keep it that way.

Gwaine's talk about his tavern brawls immediately stopped, no doubt Merlin's magic put him on edge. In a way it was a good thing, the more people watching out for danger, the more prepared they'll be for an oncoming attack.

Merlin instinctively brought a hand to his chest when he felt a sudden tightness there. He clutched the fabric of his tunic as he held the reigns with one hand. Every step in the direction they were going was making Merlin wary.

"You okay Merlin?" Gwaine asked when he saw that his friend was looking a little green.

The warlocks gaze snapped up to meet Gwaine's. The suddenness of the question caught him off guard.

"Y-yeah." Merlin stuttered. He looked away and trained his eyes on the dirt path.

Gwaine shrugged, "if you say so." He replied, but Merlin could detect the uncertainty hidden in his voice.

They traveled on for a few more minutes, each absorbed in their own thoughts until someone broke the silence.

"Guys," Leon spoke, sounding urgent enough to capture the others attentions a split second later. "I see something."

Leon was in the lead, and had been guiding them this whole time through the woods. It was convenient for him to have noticed something first. He was also the first to descend down the slight hill on the path they were on. Soon it was Merlin's turn to go over the hill, what he was met with on the other side was something he dreaded to see. Something deep down he already knew had happened.

Over the course of the last two weeks, three patrols that had left the castle, didn't return. When Arthur sent out search parties to go look for them, they always ended up finding them... dead.

This patrol consisted of five Knights. Some he recognized from the round table, and others he didn't. As his horse trotted closer he became more aware of the tightness in his chest. There was no doubt in his mind that it was from this. Whoever had done this to these Knights used dark magic. He inspected the corpses of the five Knights and noticed that all five of them had not a single spot of blood on their bodies. However, their heads were turned at an odd angle. Someone had used dark magic to break their necks.

The other times were different, all three patrols that had went missing were found dead from battle wounds. But for some reason, this time they were killed by-

"Magic." Leon practically spat, unknowingly making Merlin wince.

"Woah," Elyan spoke from his place on the ground next to one of the deceased Knights. "Take a look at this."

Merlin swung off his horse in a very inelegant manner. He and the others walked over to where Elyan was crouched down looking at something under the Knights tunic.

When whatever Elyan had been looking at came into view, Merlin saw a letter engraved on the man's abdomen.

The letter 'R.'

"Search the others." Gwaine commanded immediately.

Merlin walked over to a nearby body and pulled up the Knights chain mail and tunic, revealing his pale skinned stomach. "I've got the letter 'E.'"

"I have 'Y'" Percival added.

Leon made a disgruntled noise before speaking. "There's an 'S' on Sir Bedivere."

"Mine has an 'M'" Gwaine lastly spoke.

They all kept quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what this meant.

"So," Elyan began, "we have 'M, R, E, Y, and S', what does that spell?"

"Mryes?" Gwaine piped up.

Elyan considered this for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Ermys?" Leon asked.

Elyan shrugged.

"Possibly..."

Gwaine started to get frustrated.

"Myser, Sryem, Emrys..."

Merlin took in a sharp breath when his Druid name was spoken.

"I'm not sure Gwaine, maybe," Elyan began, "but we should report this to Arthur first before trying to figure this stuff out by ourselves."

"A-agreed." Merlin croaked out.

"Then its settled," Leon replied, "we go back and tell Arthur to send more Knights out to collect the bodies and prepare them for a proper funeral. Let's head back before we become the next set of victims."

The only thing Merlin could think about on the ride back was that whoever was doing this, wanted him.

* * *

That night, as Merlin walked in to deliver the king his dinner, he found Arthur no where in sight in the dim lit room.

He frowned before shutting the door behind him with his foot. He walked forward and put the tray on the table.

"Where were you earlier today?"

Merlin gasped, jumping a little as a voice surprised him from behind.

He turned around to see Arthur leaning against the wall beside the door with his arms crossed. Regarding him warily.

Merlin gulped, deciding he shouldn't lie about something like this.

"I went out with the Knights to search for the morning patrol that went missing."

Arthur hummed. "I don't recall giving you an order to go with them. Could you believe my surprise when I turned around to beckon for my servant to fill up my goblet and found him not there. I had sworn he came in with me."

Merlin looked away, not able to meet his King's eyes.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

Arthur shook his head. "Do not say your sorry when you don't actually mean it Merlin. I know you, and I know that you'd do it again if the same thing happened tomorrow."

Merlin didn't say anything because he knew what Arthur stated was the truth.

"See, your not even denying it!" Arthur gestured towards him with a wave of his hand. "You do realize you are not a knight right? You are a servant with no skills whatsoever ever in fighting. You can barely fight with a sword or throw a punch, how do you expect to defend yourself if someone comes to attack you? Huh? Run away and coward down behind a tree like you always do when bandits show up? Wait for the big guys to risk their lives for you while you do absolutely nothing? Tell me Merlin, why do you feel it's your obligation to come with us everywhere we go?"

The words stung each time Arthur spoke them. Even though what he said was completely false, it still hurt. Merlin can wield a sword better than most, he can throw a punch, and he does fight from behind a tree. He is anything but worthless. However, Arthur knows none of that, so how could he expect him to understand?

"I can help," Merlin replied.

"Help?" Arthur asked incredulously. "How Merlin? With what?" The king stepped forward and pushed Merlin slightly in the chest, making him stumble back a step. "Your puny arms?"

Up close Merlin could now smell the stench of alcohol coming from Arthur's breath. He was drunk.

"Arthur, your drunk, you don't know what your doing." Merlin quickly spoke.

"Im not drunk. Now, come on Merlin, fight me." Arthur drawled out.

"No." The warlock stubbornly replied.

Arthur responded by throwing a punch towards his face.

Merlin's instincts quickly kicked in.

He dodged the punch and swiftly grabbed Arthur's outstretched arm. He pulled the king forwards towards him and brought his knee up. He drove his knee into Arthur's stomach, emitting a grunt out of him. He released his hold on Arthur's arm, causing the king to crumple to the ground, gasping for breath.

"I said, no." Merlin spoke through clenched teeth before leaving a bewildered king on the floor.

* * *

Merlin stood out on the balcony, looking over the courtyard. Looking out over the place that had once been used for executions of magic users. Even though the rate of executions had died down close to none since Arthur became king, it was still illegal, and people still feared it.

Merlin heard the sound of footsteps coming from somewhere behind him. He didn't bother to turn around.

"Go away." Merlin mumbled, not in the mood for company.

The person behind him snorted.

"I came all this way to see you and all I get is a 'go away,' how nice of you Merlin."

Merlin's breath caught in his throat as he heard the familiar voice of the man he had once been so close with. A voice he never thought he'd hear again.

He shakily turned around and brought a hand over his mouth. He was still too stunned to say anything other than-

"Alex." He whispered.

The Prince grinned in response and closed the remaining distance between them. He pulled Merlin into a tight embrace.

Merlin wrapped his arms around the other in response, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

"It's been too long." He heard Alex mutter in his ear.

Merlin chuckled. "Indeed, my friend, indeed."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_

 ** _I warned you guys that I'd take longer to post. It's been a week, yikes I'm sorry._**

 ** _Btw I read your reviews and I totally agree! Guinevere is not queen in this story. She was banished and I plan on keeping her banished :) but remember this still takes place after season 4. ENJOY AND REVIEW PLEASE!_**

* * *

After the embrace, Merlin stood rooted to the spot, still too dumbfounded to move. His mind was racing with so many questions, so many assumptions. After all these years, why did Alex come back now? There had to be a reason.

The warlock's eyes surveyed Alex's form, taking in the slight, subtle changes. His hair seemed blonder, but blonde hair always became lighter in the summer. He was still slim but it was obvious that he had built up more muscle over the years. Overall, he didn't look much different.

"Wow," Merlin breathed, the ghost of a smile on his lips, "It's like you haven't aged a day."

Alex seemed to be eyeing Merlin's form as well. "I could say the same about you."

It was silent for a moment, only the sounds of clinking metal from the night patrol's armor could be heard from the balcony.

Merlin leaned his forearms over the rail. His gaze traveled the vast amount of trees that littered the forest. The moon was shining, illuminating his milky white skin. It was a crystal clear night.

Alex soon joined him, causing Merlin to remember a question he'd been meaning to ask.

"Five years."

The Prince looked over at his old friend, his brows furrowed in confusions.

"What?"

Merlin sighed, "it's been five years, Alex. I know this is not some sort of reconciliation, otherwise you would have visited years before. But for some reason you wait till now. Don't think me stupid enough to not know what time of the year it is."

Alex set hard eyes on the outlying forests, his hands gripped the rail like a vice.

"I do not think you are stupid, Merlin. I realize what time of year it is too, and I will assure you that is the least of my worries right now." The Prince replied in a firm tone, though Merlin could pinpoint the hurt that was evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry," Merlin apologized for his earlier accusation. He contemplated for a moment. "You said The Games were the least of your worries. You did come here for a reason, what is it Alex?" He finally turned to the man beside him. "What is it you need from me?"

Alex was quick to turn towards him.

"What makes you think I need something from you?" He asked incredulously.

Merlin shrugged, his gaze going back out towards the forest.

"When you knighted me you said that you may need me, so I figured that now was the time."

Alex shook his head.

"No. I'm not here to send you on some mission or to do me a favor." The Prince waited till Merlin's eyes found his once more. He took a deep breath before responding, "I'm here because your in danger."

The warlock bit his bottom lip. That was not something he was expecting. Usually it was things that concerned other people, not directly him. But from the recent reports about the murdered patrols, and from what he discovered today...

"What kind of danger?"

Alex tensed up for a moment before visibly forcing himself to relax. He turned away from the warlock and leaned on the rail once again, facing the never ending forest. He might have thought he had Merlin fooled, but Merlin was no fool.

"Tell me, Alex." He spoke in a somewhat harsh tone, but then he lowered his voice to something more soothing when he realized that that probably wasn't the best approach. He brought a hand to Alex's shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze. "I can take whatever news you have brought me."

The Prince hung his head and stared at the stone ground of the courtyard below. Merlin knew he had gotten to him when he heard the man sigh.

"My father knows about you, Merlin. He knows that you are Emrys."

A chill ran up Merlin's spine at the mention of King Edward, especially hearing that he knew who he was. Better yet, that he was still alive. His hand slowly slipped off Alex's shoulder. He had to put a shaky hand on the rail to steady himself.

"H-how did he come across this information?" The warlock stammered.

Alex ran a hand through his light blonde locks, gripping onto the strands at the back of his head.

"It was James, Merlin," Alex spoke and he sounded so distressed. His bottom lip was quivering and Merlin could see the glossy texture of his eyeballs. He was on the verge of tears. "He isn't himself. Hasn't been since..."

Since he died.

Merlin ignored the sting of betrayal and grabbed Alex's shoulders, turning him to face him.

"What happened that day, Alex? How did I survive?"

He needed to know.

The Prince let out a shaky breath.

"He used dark magic, Merlin." Alex finally admitted. "You temporarily died until he found someone else to take your place."

Merlin swallowed the uneasy lump in his throat.

"W-who died in my place?"

"Merek."

Merlin let his hands fall down to his sides. He let out a deep breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"I can not say that I'm glad he's gone, because I'm not. A life is a life, and even though he wronged me in many ways, I still don't wish death upon anyone, even him."

Alex nodded.

"I know, I know."

"What happened to my brother?" Merlin asked even though he was afraid of the answer.

"I guess you could say he became corrupt." Alex replied. "During the first two years after the spell he became uneasy, had nightmares. The lust he felt to use the dark magic became worse overtime. His body punished him for not using it. One day, he just couldn't take it anymore."

"Then what?" Merlin prompted.

"He started practicing it. Small spells at first but then the more he practiced, the more he became addicted. This went on for two more years. The Knights and I tried to get through to him but our efforts were futile. He rejected us like we were nothing but a mere insect. Until recently, he is now in the hands of my father."

Merlin nodded.

"That's when he told him all about who Emrys was." The warlock concluded. "I wondered who was killing our patrols and it makes sense now that it was your father."

Alex closed his eyes in despair.

"I just recently learned what he has been doing, that is why I came here." He opened his eyes and stared intently into the warlocks. "He wants you found Merlin, he wants you dead."

Merlin narrowed his eyes, sensing that there was something else he wasn't telling him.

"There's more."

Alex nodded in confirmation, "there is." He paused for a moment, thinking. "If you don't surrender to him in a week or so, he will gather his sorcerer army and attack Camelot. The thing is he doesn't expect you to. He's gone forth with his plans and has James training them."

Merlin shook his head.

"This is bad." He murmured.

"I mean there's some good news." Alex's voice seemed a bit more relieved at this revelation.

"Like what?" Merlin asked, his curiosity spiked.

A devious grin broke out on the Prince's face. "I have a plan."

* * *

Merlin was shaking.

He wiped the perspiration that had formed just above his brow with his sleeve. He was extremely nervous, worried that something would go wrong. He was worried that Arthur wouldn't accept them, that he would send them away. They needed their aid and he hoped that Arthur realized that too. They weren't going to win this war without it.

Merlin practically jumped from his place behind Arthur's throne when the double doors opened up. The Prince of an unknown kingdom had asked for a private audience with the king. Merlin, of course knew who it was, but Arthur certainly did not.

The guards stepped aside to allow the party of five in. Merlin almost jumped up and down in delight when his eyes set on the faces of his old friends. The giddy feeling that had welled up in his stomach caused Merlin to smile.

Merlin noticed his brother's absence. He had been informed about James' betrayal the night before and barely had time to grieve. He refused to think about it too much, and he certainly didn't have the time to be depressed when a war was starting.

In his brother's place, was Lord Mason. It was weird to see the man in armor, but he figured it was probably for the best. The lord was, after all, a great fighter and deserved to be a knight.

Merlin smiled to himself when he realized he was a knight just as they are. He was one of them, a comrade, a friend. He was a knight of Arudus.

He hoped that it didn't change anything. He was still extremely loyal to Arthur to a fault. There was no doubt in his mind that he would do anything for him. But Alex was his friend, and he had vowed to be his knight, to help when needed. Alex deserved his loyalty just as much as Arthur did.

Merlin visually saw Arthur tense when the king laid eyes on the dark green cloaks. His fingers were white from gripping the arms of his chair a little too hard.

The warlock had no clue why Arthur was distressed. It was true that Arthur had met his friends once, but James made sure he forgot them. Unless...

No. Merlin shook his head to prevent himself from thinking anything rash. His brother may have turned to the dark ways, but there was no way he had the time and energy to come here and revive Arthur's memories.

Merlin's brows furrowed in confusion when he thought about how Alex had gotten to Camelot last night. If James wasn't here, then who else had the ability to teleport? His eyes went immediately to a smug looking Cade. The dirty blonde haired knight still looked nearly the same as he did last time, just somehow he and the others looked more... mature.

Could it have been him who teleported the group? Did they finally know about Cade's magic?

He was snapped out of my thoughts by Alex's voice.

"King Arthur," he spoke solemnly, bowing respectfully. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

The others followed suit.

Arthur bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"Forgive me, sir knight, but I do not believe we have met."

"No," Alex said with a sly smile. His eyes flickered to Merlin for a moment before he took another step forward. He straightened his posture and held his chin up high.

Merlin had never seen Alex look so powerful, so regal.

He wanted to take a step back himself.

"I am Prince Alexander Lockheart of Arudus."

And there it was.

Arthur seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, his eyes roaming to each and every face of his men. For some reason he was studying them all intensely.

Arthur finally met the eyes of the Prince when he was finished.

"I have never heard of your last name or of such a kingdom. Forgive me for asking, where are you located?"

"Far north of these lands."

Arthur nodded.

"May I ask, why have you traveled all this way to my kingdom? Are you here seeking peace? Perhaps a treaty?"

Alex smiled, a true, genuine smile that Merlin would see a lot when he was around.

"Perhaps, one day," the Prince replied, his smile soon turning into one of seriousness, "when I take my father's place as king."

Merlin really hoped that 'one day' was really soon.

"Then, there must be some other reason in which you are here. Please, do tell."

Cade shifted from foot to foot impatiently behind Alex. He hoped that these royals would get on with it already. He was really looking forward to tackling Merlin.

Matthew shot him a sidelong glare. The ever perfect knight was always trying to get him in order but... he should know him better by now.

Cade rolled his eyes at his friend.

When he faced forward again, King Arthur seemed to be staring at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

The knight just shrugged, causing the king to snort in amusement.

A grin broke out on Cade's face when he realized he had just made Arthur Pendragon snort!

The king realized his mistake from the panicked look on his face, but Arthur quickly covered it up by giving a small cough.

Cade's Prince soon proceeded with his answer.

"I have come to warn you, Arthur. Your kingdom is in danger."

Arthur's jaw clenched, and Merlin disliked the fact that Alex decided to throw propriety out the window and just address the king in a very undignified way. He hated to think what Arthur would do.

Surprisingly, Arthur seemed to be fine with it, in fact, he looked to have calmed down a bit.

"Well, Alexander, it was very nice of you to come all this way to warn me. Now, what is it that is a threat to me?"

"My father." Alex grit out.

A wave of emotions washed over Arthur's face when the king thought about this man betraying his father, his king. It was something Arthur would never do, something that took a great deal of courage.

"Why is the king of Arudus a threat to me?" He asked.

"Because," Alex began, "he is the one responsible for the murders of your men."

Arthur sat up more forward in his chair, eyes dead set on Alex.

"How can I believe that your telling the truth when it is your father that is at stake here?"

The Prince sighed, "He's never been a father to me, not really. He cares for nobody but himself, money, and power." Alex looked down, looking much younger than he was, like a young boy. "He killed my mother." It was quiet, but everyone still heard.

Arthur looked taken aback for a moment. The Prince and him had a lot in common, sure, but his father had loved him and didn't kill his mother. He couldn't imagine what this Prince was going through.

"I believe you," The king finally responded.

Alex sighed in relief.

"But why?" He asked, "what quarrel does your father have with me?"

The Prince opened his mouth to respond, his eyes flicking over quickly to Merlin's worried face. He couldn't tell Arthur the truth, he wouldn't. He would never betray his friend.

"My father is against your beliefs on the persecution of magic users, he wants revenge."

The typical reason other kingdoms attacked Camelot, it was the perfect cover up, Merlin thought.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the Captain.

"And you? Do you not want revenge against my kingdom?"

"I do not believe that what your law states, and what you and your father have done is right." Alex uttered, "but even though your father has sentenced many innocents to death, a life is a life and I still don't wish death upon anyone, even you."

Merlin smiled to himself when he realized Alex was reciting his words from the night before. He was proud but also a little nervous for what Arthur would say.

"I have heard many good things about you, Arthur Pendragon. Your honorable, courageous, and have the heart of a lion. You are a worthy man and deserve a long and prosperous reign. One thing I know for sure is that you are certainly not your father."

Arthur thought for a moment.

"I thank you for your kind words, Alexander-"

"Please," the Prince interrupted, "call me Alex."

"Alex," the king corrected with a small smile, "I believe you have done the right thing by coming to me with this information, but, what is it your father is planning? There has to be something greater than just... killing off my patrols."

Alex nodded, hesitantly speaking, "He plans to attack within the week."

"Attack?" Arthur sounded alarmed. "How strong is his army?"

Alex diverted his eyes, finding the stone wall behind the king much more interesting.

"He has an army of sorcerers." He muttered.

Arthur's eyes widened. "A sorcerer army?"

Alex nodded in confirmation.

The king slumped in his chair. An army full of sorcerers... he had never gone against something like that. The odds would not be stacked in their favor. As great as his men were with a sword, they were no match for magic. The occasional sorcerer or two were a struggle but eventually they'd always triumph. But an army? Hundreds of sorcerers? Perhaps thousands would be... impossible to beat. Not without magic.

"Yes, but I have a comrade that is assembling an army full of Knights who are loyal to me and only me. Not my father."

Arthur just nodded, not really in the mood to reply.

"I-" the king cleared his throat when his voice came out squeaky. His face turned a light shade of red from embarrassment. "I'm sure you and your comrades are tired from the long journey here. Let my manservant, Merlin, accompany you to your chambers."

He gestured to the warlock that always stood behind him.

"We will discuss this tomorrow."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**_

 _ **probably no good but at least I posted, anyways pls review I promise it'll get better.**_

* * *

Merlin did what the king had instructed, he lead Alex and his men to their assigned rooms in the guest chambers. He walked quietly with the upmost propriety like every good servant should when guests arrived. Although he didn't need to act like this with Alex and his men, he still needed to keep up pretenses around the other lords and servants that passed by. He navigated through the corridors with the Knights in tow and Alex by his side, his cape bellowing out behind him. As he walked, he had an air of dignity about him. Those who walked past couldn't keep their eyes off of his practically glowing form. He was the ideal prince, one who was handsome, a true warrior, fair and just, and loved by all of his people. Those who glanced at him had to take a double take, not just because his cape wasn't the Pendragon red, but because of how he carried himself. With sovereignty.

He would make a great king, Merlin thought. It was about time he took his father's place.

They finally arrived at the rooms assigned to them. Each receiving their own comfortable chambers with of course Alex's being the one fit for a prince.

"Where's your luggage?" Merlin asked when he noticed that none of the Knights had brought a bag with them.

"Oh," Alex looked around at each one of his Knights, suddenly now noticing that in fact, none of them had bags.

"We've never really... you know." He shrugged, blushing from embarrassment.

Merlin tried not to look so surprised but his facial features betrayed him in the end when he couldn't hold it in. He gaped, staring wide eyed at the Prince.

"Are you saying that you've never..." Alex looked down at the ground in shame.

Merlin turned to look at the others but they quickly diverted their eyes, finding the marble floors a lot more interesting.

"So, you guys haven't either?"

A few shakes of the head was all he needed to know.

"Wow," he breathed, still too dumbfounded by this shocking revelation to form proper words.

"I thought you would have known, Merlin." Matthew spoke up softly, seeming quite sad. "We make no peace with other kingdoms so how do you expect us to have visited one before? How were we supposed to know what to bring?"

A wave a guilt washed over Merlin's stunned face, contorting his features to one of pity.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." He stuttered.

Alex shook his head, "No, no you didn't offend us." He reassured.

Merlin nodded in understanding but that still didn't help the pang of guilt that had settled in his gut.

"Besides," he spoke up, sounding more cheerful, "I could just buy clothes here."

"Yeah," Merlin agreed, but then he remembered something, "could you not just teleport back home to grab your things?"

A look of worry crossed all five of the Knights features as they exchanged looks, most of them glancing towards Cade and Alex.

That confirmed his suspicions.

"So its true," Merlin uttered, "you guys know about Cade."

Cade himself, nodded in confirmation, "They do."

"Does..."

"No." Alex quickly added as if he had read his mind. "Neither of them know."

If they were thinking of the same people, than this could be used to their advantage.

"We shouldn't talk about this here," Merlin spoke while looking around to make sure no one was around.

"I agree," Alex responded, "we should talk about this in my chambers though, come on." He gestured for Merlin to open his room. Once done so, they all filed into the big, luxurious, red filled room.

Alex closed the door as his Knights settled around the wooden dining table before he too joined the group.

"Now," he began, "what do you guys suggest we do?"

"I'm sorry Alex but can this wait?" Cade asked with a pout in his lips, interrupting the beginning of their immediately instigated meeting. "We haven't even gotten the proper chance to reunite with _Mer_ lin."

Alex rolled his eyes, "fine." He grumbled. "Make it quick."

Cade beamed, turning malicious eyes on Merlin whose smile quickly turned into a frown of fear.

The knight advanced forward with a wicked grin, causing Merlin to back up a few steps, but unfortunately, the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, giving Cade the advantage.

Merlin was familiar with Cade's ways, he always tended to tackle Merlin in Arudus with the same tactics. The familiarity of the situation made a warm feeling spread throughout his stomach but it didn't last long and soon turned back to an uneasy sensation when Cade yelled out a war cry.

Merlin's frantic eyes sought out Alex's in less than a second, any sort of help would be appreciated. But all he saw was amusement, in fact, all the Knights including Mason seemed intrigued.

He had no more time to think about it when Cade's body crashed into his with full force.

Merlin grunted as he fell back and onto the bed with a heavy Cade in full out chainmail and armor on top of him.

He gasped when the air was knocked out of his lungs, the weight of the man on top of him was unpleasant.

They always used to wrestle like this. Merlin would knee Cade and get the opening to flip the other over, triumphantly whooping in the end, but this time it felt different, especially when Merlin didn't have the time to fight back.

Cade gripped onto Merlin's wrists and held them above the warlock's head. Merlin struggled against his friend but his attempts were futile.

He looked up at the man on top of him, expecting to see his friend there, but it wasn't Cade, no, it was the last person he ever expected to see. Someone he only ever dreamed about in his nightmares.

The man staring back at him was no longer his friend, but Merek.

Merek, the sorcerer who had beaten him, molested him.

Merek, the man who had dealt the killing blow to his heart.

His offender, his killer.

And he was right above him. Even if it was really Cade it still didn't look like him, and the position they were in brought forth old memories that he thought were lost to him forever.

Experiences he never wanted to resurface.

He shuffled against the man on top of him, kicking his legs in a haste, trying desperately to free himself from the grip the encompassed his wrists. A grip that felt all too familiar to him. His heart rate sped, thumping wildly in his chest he was almost sure the whole room could hear. He hadn't thought about Merek in a while, hadn't dreamt about him in years, hadn't said his name since the games until yesterday, on the balcony with Alex. Why was this happening to him now?

The deep, throaty chuckle that came from the illusion rang through his ears. He inwardly cringed as he felt his hot breath ghost over his cheek. He wanted this to end, wanted to be freed.

"No..." Merlin whimpered in such distress that he could have sworn he felt a cold liquid run down his cheek.

Was he crying?

In response, the hands gripped tighter, so tight that Merlin felt his wrists would tear in half from the brute force.

The warlock knew Cade would never hurt him, would never intentionally try to harm him. He wondered briefly if what he was experiencing had anything to do with magic or maybe his mind. Perhaps he had gone mad, crazy, maybe he had become loony.

At first, Alex watched the spectacle with utter amusement, laughing along with the others playfully as Cade tackled their dearly missed friend, but Alex's smile faded all too soon when he noticed Merlin wasn't reciprocating the same feelings, nor did he seem to be having fun or enjoying Cade's playful antics.

He watched on as the blonde knight gained the upper hand, restraining Merlin from using his hands against him. Cade laughed humorously at Merlin's useless attempts at gaining the upper hand. But somehow, the Knight was oblivious to Merlin's pained expression. Something was wrong.

The moment the prince heard his truest friends broken voice, a sickening whine that escaped his quivering lips, Alex was quick to speak.

"Cade stop." He commanded.

He attracted the attentions of his other Knights when they detected the hidden anguish in their Prince's voice.

They watched on as Alex practically sneered at the dirty blonde.

"Cade," he growled, "get off of him."

The Knight responded by throwing his head back with a howl of laughter, seemingly to mistaken Merlin's rapid struggles with an act of teasingly fighting back.

"Why?" Cade almost practically shouted, laughing some more, apparently missing the tears streaming down Merlin's face, but Alex caught them, the Prince saw them. "We're having fun!" He cheered.

The Prince had enough with trying to verbally command his friend to get off of the warlock. He resorted to physically prying the knight off of him. He started walking forward, making his way towards the two before things got out of hand.

"Get off of him now before-"

But he was too late, the inevitable was doomed to happen, and the prince wasn't even surprised to see Cade fly back through the air, barreling into a dumbstruck Lucas.

Both toppled over, Lucas taking the more brunt of the fall.

Matthew and Mason rushed to their friend's sides, and then, once he saw Cade and Lucas stir, he made his way towards the frightened warlock.

"Merlin," he soothed, slowly sitting down on the bed beside his friend. The dip in the bed caused by Alex's sudden weight caused Merlin to snap out of his stupor and focus his tear filled eyes on Alex's face.

"A-Alex?" He choked out in a sob that nearly broke Alex's heart. He hated seeing his friend look so broken, so small, almost childlike.

"Yeah," he smiled softly, "its me."

The Prince gazed in the warlocks eyes, brushing his black, sweaty fringe across his forehead.

"Tell me what happened Merlin," the Prince muttered, "tell me what's wrong."

"Merek," he choked out, another sob escaping his lips, "I-I saw Merek."

Alex turned his head towards his comrades, his eyes immediately settled on Cade's guilty face. His shoulders drooped as he stared at the upset warlock, mouth slightly ajar from shock at what he had just done to Merlin, even if it wasn't fully his fault.

Everything seemed to slot into place before Alex's eyes. Merlin was scared because he saw Merek on top of him, not Cade. The way the knight held him down must have been similar to the way Merek forcefully pinned him to the floor back on Arudus. It all seemed to make a little more sense except to why Merlin saw that abomination instead of his old friend.

Lucas stepped forward, running the back of his head in the process.

"What happened?" His voice came out stressed, "Why did he do that?"

"He was scared," Alex answered.

"Of what?" Matthew pressed forward.

"Of me." Cade practically whispered. He stared at no where in particular, looking extremely dejected.

"No," Alex quickly shook his head, "not you, Cade."

The Knight scoffed, still refusing to meet his captain's eyes.

"Yeah right, you saw for yourself Alex, you even warmed me to get off of him." He rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation, "He was crying for goodness sake!"

Alex stood up abruptly, turning intense eyes onto his comrade.

"Cade..." when the knight refused to look at him he shouted again, "Cade!"

The blonde finally looked up, meeting Alex's eyes with empty ones of his own.

"What?" He practically spat.

Alex sighed, willing above all else that his knight would understand him, "all he saw above him was Merek, not you Cade."

The man furrowed his brows.

"Merek?" He asked incredulously.

Alex nodded.

"Impossible, I was the one looking-"

"Sometimes," Lord Mason began, drawing everyone's attention towards him from the deep rumble of his voice. "The mind plays tricks on us. Sometimes when you live through a familiar situation, things change, and we relive experiences. Fear overcomes us and makes us see things that aren't really there, morphing objects or people to our mind's liking."

Everyone glanced over at Merlin who still hadn't moved from his spot on the bed. He was lying limply on his back, staring blankly at the bland ceiling, with tear stained cheeks, looking as if he was in a totally different world.

"Or..." eyes shifted towards Cade when the sorcerer began to speak, "magic is behind this."

Alex stepped forward, a look of worry on his face.

"What are you saying?" He dared to ask.

Cade shrugged sheepishly, "all I'm saying is that maybe this was no trick of the brain, perhaps this was, James's doing."

"James's doing?" Alex asked, "you sure?"

Cade pondered it for a moment.

"No, you can never be too sure, but, It's possible that this is James' first move against us, maybe he wants to mess with Merlin's sanity, make him vulnerable enough to not be able to be his strongest when using his magic."

"Yeah," Lucas agreed, "think about it, who's stronger? A frightened and vulnerable Merlin, or a confident and powerful Emrys who knows what he's doing?"

No one said anything, but they all secretly agreed on the latter.


	4. AN:

I've had no time to write and I'm truly sorry. I've been caught up in school and ACT prep so that's why I haven't posted. I'm going on HIATUS for a bit and again, sorry :(


	5. AN

**_A/N:_**

 ** _so I see people have been asking for me to come back and continue writing this story. Whenever I usually write I end up giving up because I never stay interested in what I'm writing. I'm not a very good writer when it comes to detail and staying on character but I was trying and hopefully my writing isn't too terrible. I think maybe if I came back I could improve on this story or maybe delete this sequel and restart on a new one? Idk Bc what I had in my for the trilogy I may make it the sequel, or somehow turn the invents into playing out how I would write the third one. If I continued writing this story would you guys even remeber what you previously read? It's been awhile and I certainly know I'll have to reread some of my work. Tell me what you think and if I get enough reviews and feedback I may continue with this story. Thankyou, -fatalsam_**


	6. Chapter 4: Stockholm Syndrome

**_A/N:_**

 ** _READ THE PREVIOUSLY! so I decided to continue going with this story line so here we go! Finally after all this time, Chapter 4. sorry for abandoning! I hate when other DO that :( thankyou for all your kind reviews! I didn't except so many to respond but glad y'all did :). Eh hopefully you guys will like it, enjoy!_**

* * *

 ** _Previously on The Sorcerer Games..._**

 _"If I may, sire, I believe he is correct." Gaius spoke up. "I found this," the physician moved over to his_ _book shelf and picked up what looked like to be a royal seal. "On Merlin's bed, it is the same Royal Crest that is on that cloak."_

 _Arthur took the ring from Gaius and held it close to his face, observing it from all angles. "It's a perfect match."_

 _"That is their Royal seal, not one normally fit for a king but, for a Prince." Uther stated._

 _Arthur stilled, "Are you saying that the Prince from this mysterious kingdom personally came here to kidnap my manservant?"_

 _"I have no idea, son. All I'm saying is that," he pointed to the ring in Arthur's hand, "that is a royal seal fit for a crown prince."_

 ** _Previously on Yin and Yang..._**

 _"I thank you for your kind words, Alexander-"_

 _"Please," the Prince interrupted, "call me Alex."_

 _"Alex," the king corrected with a small smile, "I believe you have done the right thing by coming to me with this information, but, what is it your father is planning? There has to be something greater than just... killing off my patrols."_

 _Alex nodded, hesitantly speaking, "He plans to attack within the week."_

 _"Attack?" Arthur sounded alarmed. "How strong is his army?"_

 _Alex diverted his eyes, finding the stone wall behind the king much more interesting._

 _"He has an army of sorcerers." He muttered._

 _Arthur's eyes widened. "A sorcerer army?"_

 _ **[Cont]**_

 _They always used to wrestle like this. Merlin would knee Cade and get the opening to flip the other over, triumphantly whooping in the end, but this time it felt different, especially when Merlin didn't have the time to fight back._

 _Cade gripped onto Merlin's wrists and held them above the warlock's head. Merlin struggled against his friend but his attempts were futile._

 _He looked up at the man on top of him, expecting to see his friend there, but it wasn't Cade, no, it was the last person he ever expected to see. Someone he only ever dreamed about in his nightmares._

 _The man staring back at him was no longer his friend, but Merek._

 _Merek, the sorcerer who had beaten him, molested him._

 _Merek, the man who had dealt the killing blow to his heart._

 _His offender, his killer._

* * *

Arthur stared blankly out of the window in his chambers. He wasn't paying attention to the people below who were bustling about the courtyard running errands for their families or masters. He was looking, but not focusing on what was in front of him, his mind was elsewhere.

He thought back to what happened that day. How he felt when his eyes landed on the dark green color of their cloaks, how his hands gripped the sides of his throne until his knuckles were a ghostly white. The real, intense anger he felt the moment his eyes latched on to the Prince's hands and discovered no sigil ring. He remembers clearly the gut wrenching, sickly feeling he got when he saw the engraved Golden Lion on their breastplates.

These were the men who kidnapped Merlin five years ago. This was the same Prince who took Merlin from his bed. This was the kingdom that held his servant captive for eight months.

The King turned his head away from the window and looked towards the keys that were dangling from their place beside his bed, neatly placed on the hook near the upper left corner of his headboard.

He told Prince Alex that he believed the man and all he had to say about his father and the threat to his kingdom. He seemed like a trustworthy man, and his men kind of reminded Arthur of his own, but, how could he trust the man who kidnapped Merlin? How could he forgive the person who caused him to grieve and feel half the person he was for eight long, miserable months?

Arthur never got to learn or here about what happened to his servant during those months since every time he asked him a question about what happened, the man clambered up and refused to speak of anything on the matter. Over time Arthur just stopped asking, stopped worrying because well... it's wasn't right for a prince or king to worry about his manservant. It wasn't propriety, it wasn't proper.

Merlin didn't seem the least bit unfazed by the appearance of these men. In fact, he seemed sort of, happy? No, he had some sort of longing in his eyes, the face of someone who hadn't seen a friend for years. And maybe, maybe that's exactly what it was. Perhaps Merlin befriended his captors during his long stay in Arudus. Maybe, Merlin was protecting them. That's why he sent Merlin to accompany them to their rooms and not some other servant. He wanted to see his reaction. But as usually, his face was unreliable. And the polite smile he gave to the group was customary when it came to showing royalties to their rooms. Unless...

Arthur shook his head to clear it. _No_ , he thought, Merlin was only loyal to him, he couldn't have divided loyalties between two royals of different households. That'd be ridiculous, so unlike the Merlin he knew.

The glimmer of his keys grabbed his attention again, this time he focused on one specific key. It was gold unlike the rest, specifically designed for the toughest of locks.

There were only two keys of this one in existence. One belongs to him, and the other belongs to his first in command, Leon.

He took a few steps till he reached the edge of his bed before taking the keys off the hook. He attached it to the side of his belt and took off towards his chamber door. He was heading to the one place this key opened, the one place he could find the object he was looking for.

The vaults.

* * *

 _"Your so beautiful. I can't believe I'm going to get to have my way with you."_

 _"No."_

 _"Too many clothes."_

 _"No! Help me! Somebody!"_

 _"No one is going to come for you Merlin, nobody cares for you."_

 _"p-please leave me alone."_

 _"No can do."_

 _"No, stop please. Ah, stop, stop stop. No... Arthur!"_

Merlin woke with a start, shooting bolt right out of bed. He panted vigorously as he raised a shaky hand to wipe of the perspiration that had formed on his forehead.

"Are you alright?"

Merlin flinched from the sudden rumble of words, quickly turning his face towards the sound.

When his vision cleared, it was to see a worried stricken Mason.

The warlock slowly lowered his hand which had instinctively stretched out towards the man.

"Lord Mason," Merlin acknowledged a bit breathlessly, a small, relieved smile gracing his lips, "you startled me."

The Lord was sitting to his right. One of the wooden chairs from the dinner table under his rear. His under eyes were drooping with bags, and the way he was sitting, with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands told Merlin he had been there for awhile.

"Sir Mason." He corrected.

"What?" Merlin asked, still confused and dazed from his nightmare and slumber.

The man sighed.

"I would prefer if you called me Sir Mason." He leaned back in his chair and gestured with his hand over his armor. "As you can tell, I'm a knight now Merlin, and I'd appreciate it if you used my proper title."

Merlin sheepishly nodded his head. "Oh uh, my apologizes, er, Sir Mason?"

The older knight smiled in response.

Even though he spent all day, everyday with this man for eight months at one point in his life, he was still really intimated at times by the guy. Even if he could beat him with a sword.

"And to answer your first question, I'm fine."

Mason's smile faltered a bit at that. He hummed in response and just sat there, arms crossed and staring at Merlin.

The warlock diverted his gaze and looked around the room. Finally remembering the events that had lead him to wake up in Alex's bed, with no Prince in sight.

"Where are the others?" Merlin curiously asked.

His previous trainer looked towards the window when he next spoke, "Training with some of the knights of Camelot."

Well, if Sir Mason was a knight then...

"Why aren't you with them?"

The man sighed and looked away, refusing to meet his eyes when he said, "someone had to stay and watch over you. I volunteered."

Merlin's cheeks colored slightly in embarrassment at the prospect of having to be looked after by another man. He was certainly not a boy.

"That was, um, very kind of you."

The Knight cleared his threat before rising out of his chair. Merlin watched as he picked up the chair and put it back with the others.

"I'm going to join the others now." Mason said, looking once again at Merlin. "I'm sure they'd love for you to come."

"Pft." Merlin waved him off, "I couldn't possibly intrude on their training. Besides, I wouldn't be able to spar with them even if I wanted to."

Mason tilted his head in confusion with a furrowed brow. It kind of reminded Merlin of Arthur's hunting dogs when they heard an unfamiliar command.

"And why is that?"

Merlin but his lip. He hadn't exactly told the knights of Arudus that he'd kept not only his magic a secret from Arthur, but also the fact that he could wield a sword as well as his king, fight better than his master, and throw a knife dead center of a target. He was practically an assassin. Well, he technically kind of was if he was killing those who stood in Arthur's way. He cringed a little at the thought of his previous kills.

He scratched the back of his head self-consciously and gave a small shrug.

"Arthur kind of doesn't know that I can wield a sword."

The knight seemed taken aback for a moment before he schooled his features into something more appropriate.

"Oh, well, I guess you couldn't have told him now could you?"

Merlin silently agreed.

"It would have lead to a bunch of questions about what you were doing in Arudus, and you certainly couldn't have mentioned the Sorcerer Games without revealing yourself to your King who would have a Sorcerer executed in no time at all, and-"

"Yes, yes I get it." Merlin spoke quickly, cutting Mason off. This was the most the man had ever spoken in all the months that he'd known him.

"My apologizes." He said while shifting uncomfortably. They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment before Sir Mason cleared his throat, again.

"Well if your sure about not coming..."

"I'm sure." Merlin reassured him with a soft smile. "Go on, their probably waiting for-"

Just then, the door slammed open, hitting the wall behind it and most likely creating a hole in the wall. Three laughing knights, Cade, Matthew, and Lucas, came barreling into the room.

"Merlin!" Lucas cheered enthusiastically when he caught sight of him. He walked over towards the warlock and giving him a tight bear hug before letting go. Merlin wrinkled his nose, the knight smelled like outside and was sticky with wet sweat. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." Merlin replied with a small smile. He stole a glance over at Cade to see the knight avoiding eye contact with him, and looking a little glum.

"Come on!" Lucas encouraged, pulling Merlin by the arm out of bed. If it wasn't for the knight keeping a hold of his shoulder, he probably would be on the floor by now. "We're meeting Gwaine at the rising sun in a bit and have come back to bring you along!"

Merlin looked around and noted that Alex was still, no where in sight.

"Where's Alex?" He asked worriedly.

Matthew finally spoke up, "oh, he's taking a breather on the training field and enjoying himself a little longer in the sun. He'll meet us there soon."

The warlock made a decision and nodded. "Okay." He replied before following the rest out.

Mason had a grim expression on his face, most likely disappointed that he didn't get the chance to train but that was quickly replaced by a hunger for mead. So he too came along.

* * *

Prince Alex stood with his head tilted up, facing the sky. The sun's warm, afternoon rays felt warm and delightful on his skin after the long training session.

It was amazing, finally getting to train with other knights from another kingdom. They were no better than him, he was after all, the best swordsman in Arudus, well, if he counted Merlin, they may just be about the same.

Over the course of the five years he was parted from Merlin, he couldn't help but think about him at least once everyday. The man left an imprint on his heart and it hadn't been relieved since. In the short eight months he had spent time with the legendary Emrys, he had somehow wormed his way into becoming his best friend. More like a little brother. He smiled just thinking about the fun memories they had.

"Pleasant day isn't it?"

The Prince quickly opened his eyes and lowered his face, he turned towards the the newcomer.

King Arthur, was the man behind the voice who had just now caught up with him. He stood next to him, staring not at him, but at the field in front of them. His face was unreadable, with the slightest tightness of muscles. He stood straight and brilliant, like every great King should, with his hands clasped perfect behind his back.

Alex turned away to stare off in the same place as the king.

"Indeed it is, sire." He answered politely.

There was a peaceful moment of silence before the king turned to him with a weird smile on his face.

"Tell me, Alexander." The Prince inwardly cringed at the use of his full name. "Have you ever been to Camelot before?"

The Prince took a quick glance to his left before answering, "No, sire."

The King smiled almost triumphantly, as if that was exactly the answer he had been waiting for. Arthur turned back to face the fields once more.

"Is Camelot to your liking?"

Alex had no idea what the King of Camelot was playing at, but he knew it couldn't be good.

"Y-yes, your majesty, Camelot is wonderful." The Prince responded, inwardly cursing himself for stuttering.

Arthur grinned wider, still not looking at him.

"And my Manservant? Merlin?" The king asked, turning his head to look at Alex. The smile suddenly falling from his face. "Was he to your liking as well?"

Was this usual protocol? For a king to ask such question to their guests? Perhaps it was.

"Yes," Alex responded, and he couldn't help the faint smile that formed on his lips. "He was very polite and helpful."

Arthur nodded, seeming to agree. "That he is."

It was silent for a moment longer, with both of them refusing to meet the other's eyes

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw the King reach in his pocket for something. When he revealed what he had been looking for, the Prince's eyes followed the object the king was twirling through his fingers. It was a golden ring.

"Here." Arthur suddenly spoke up, turning quickly and depositing the ring in Alex's hand.

"I believe you dropped this on your last visit to my kingdom."

The moment Alex turned the ring over in his hand and saw the Lion, he stilled. His heart rate sped up and so did his breathing.

Because in his hand was not just any ring, but his sigil ring. A ring he had lost five years ago, a ring he had lost in Camelot.

He was still frozen to the spot when Arthur walked past him, returning back to the castle.

He turned just in time to see the king halt to a stop and spin around swiftly.

"Oh, and Alexander, I'm sure you can have your men ready to ride out by morning." He finished with a confident smirk. "I hope you had a pleasant stay."

And with that, he walked off, leaving a horror stricken Prince behind in his wake.

The only thoughts running through Alex's head was, _this is bad._

* * *

 _ **hope you enjoyed! Please Review, -fatalsam**_


	7. Chapter 5: Knights in shining Armor

_**A/N:**_

 _ **Lots of action, no swords involved, sad, intense, slightly confusing, well, you'll just have to see!**_

 _ **please review! Hopefully my detail is good and so is my grammar. Well, hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

Merlin didn't know how it started, but it didn't really matter. All he knew was the person who started it.

And that person was none other than Gwaine.

Merlin was only one drink in when it happened. There was the sound of a fist slamming into flesh, then yelling, and then chaos.

He can't say he was honestly surprised. Gwaine was always the one to somehow get himself in trouble and provoke any guy around him to get angry and start a fight. Who knows, maybe he flirted with a married man's wife. Certainly wasn't the first time Merlin had heard of it.

He didn't even know why he got involved in the first place. Maybe it was to save his friend or perhaps he missed being able to kick someone's arse.

One punch to the face, another in the gut, and a swift kick to the chest was enough to make his opponent crash into a table and not get back up. Well, at least not for awhile.

Merlin looked to his left just in time to see Cade slam a man on the table, the poor guy received several hits to the face.

The warlock winced. That one was definitely going to leave a mark.

And another thing that didn't surprise Merlin was Gwaine's insane ability to not just get involved in a fight with one guy, but the whole damn tavern.

Possibly it was because everyone was just drunk, but nobody truly knew why they were punching the guy next to them or pulling another girls hair. If one starts fighting, the whole tavern gets involved. And now, it was a serious problem.

A blow to Merlin's left eye caused him to stagger back a few steps. He wanted to hold his eye and hold onto it till the throbbing pain stopped but in a split second decision he remembered that the person who had just punched him probably was going to continue to make him his human punching bag. He looked up just in time to see the man trudging at him with a- wait... Merlin squinted his good eye.

Was that a Knife?

"Oh sard."

Before Merlin could even think to move, he was miraculously saved.

It was all a big blur since his left eye was tearing up from the hit. But what he could tell from the sudden rush of green movement was that somebody tackled the man resulting in both people crashing into a small wooden table. His attacker taking the brunt of the fall.

When the big burly man with the knife picked his head up from under the green cloaked guy, the mysterious man punched the armed man in the face, instantly knocking him out.

The man turned his head towards Merlin and quickly assessed him for injuries if his wondrous eyes were anything to go by. The warlock sighed in relief.

It was Alex.

Piercing green eyes locked onto his, from what Merlin could tell, Alex was deeply worried.

"We need to talk!" He yelled over the loud crowd.

Just then someone swung in Merlin's blind spot. He quickly grabbed the outstretched hand and pulled before connecting his knee into the man's ribs, similarily what he had done to Arthur the day before. The man fell to the floor in a heap of gasps, and once he seemed to be taken care of Merlin returned his attention to his friend.

"Maybe later?" He suggested. "I'm kind of busy here."

"Yeah!" Alex called back as he kicked a guy in the head, knocking his drunk opponent out easily. "I guess we can take care of this first."

This time he was caught off guard. So Merlin wasn't prepared.

He grunted and closed his eyes for the inevitable when someone crashed full force into his body.

He slammed on the ground with a heavy man on top of him. His cry of pain didn't go unnoticed by Alex, but it was unfortunate that he was currently busy with his own guy.

Merlin let out a wheeze just before the man got up and placed his giant, clammy hands around Merlin's neck, squeezing with a vice grip.

The warlock's breathing immediately ceased and he clawed at the hands of his assailant, trying desperately to pry them off. His legs kicked out vigorously from underneath him.

If he didn't do something quick he would be a dead man.

Magic was his only other solution, and it was either that or say goodbye to his destiny.

It wasn't hard to push the guy off of him and onto the floor a couple feet away, his magic had been desperately trying to come out the moment it had sensed Merlin was in danger.

He stood up, deliberately ignoring the throbbing pain in his neck. The man he had just flung off of himself sat up with bugged eyes.

"Sorc-!"

But he had no time to finish that statement, because Merlin had already crossed the distance between them and slammed his foot down on his head.

He was not going to be outed, not today, and not by anyone other than himself.

He didn't have time to turn around because once again, Merlin was tackled but this time, from behind.

He fell hard on his bent arms, his elbows no doubt now scraped and bleeding from the fall.

He attempted to get up but his attempts were futile when the guy quickly adjusted himself and sat on top of him. The new person grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back before slamming his forehead into the ground.

He let out a painful yelp as the guy pulled his head back again, getting ready to repeat the same action. Merlin couldn't see anything, and he had an idea of what he looked like now, some dazed person with a big bleeding gash on his head.

Before the man had a chance to slam his head into the hard floor once again, the weight was suddenly gone. His heavy head flopped roughly to the ground, emitting a low groan from deep inside of Merlin. The sounds that once filled the chaotic room were blocked out by the loud pounding sounding throughout his head.

His right cheek was lying on the cool wooden floor. Crimson red blood made its way down his temple and onto the ground. He should get up, he really should before someone else came to finish him off because you never know what could happen around a drunk man. They were capable of almost anything. He needed to get up, to make his way back to the castle and find Gaius, but he didn't feel like it. His head hurt, and he felt hot, really hot all over and the floor felt so good. He was content on resting right there, lying down on the ground forever and never getting up. He was so tired and the alcohol in his system wasn't helping. He was a light weight and after just one drink he always became drunk. It wasn't his fault the tankard his drink came in was so large and filled to the brim with mead.

The warlock felt a slight tug on his arm.

"Come on Merlin, up." Someone said, their voice muffled from the rush of blood in Merlin's head.

He let out a pained groan as he was pulled to his feet. The man held Merlin's waist as he took his arm and lifted it over and onto his shoulder.

 _Good_ , Merlin thought, because he wouldn't be able to walk on his own anyway.

His vision blurred and he stumbled a bit before there was a tighter squeeze around his waist, he silently thanked the gods for the extra support. Merlin squeezed his eyes tight for a moment, desperate for his headache to just go away, but of course, nothing changed. He let out a slow, ragged breath and tried to ignore the sting in his eye, forehead, and elbows, but sadly, his magic was thrumming through his veins and that caused his senses to heighten, and unfortunately his pain too.

Merlin watched with one eye as a guy was nearly beaten to death right in front of him. Blood oozed out from the victim's nose and onto the fist of his opponent. Every punch was a pang in Merlin's gut and the disturbing feeling in his stomach deepened each time a blow was landed.

He couldn't help the small gasp that escaped his lips when the person in front of him finally registered in his brain. It was the moment he saw the long shaggy brown hair that he knew it was him.

"G-Gwaine." Merlin whispered, trying desperately to reach his friend.

The arm around his waist tightened even more, this time Merlin finally looked to his right to see who it was.

He wasn't surprised to see Alex's worried face.

"We need to take it slow." The Prince said, looking intently into Merlin's eyes. "I know you want to get back to Gaius as fast as you can but-"

"Gwaine." Merlin said weakly once more, he gave a small nod in the direction of his injured friend.

Alex turned this time and the warlock watched as his eyes widened just a fraction before softening.

"I can't leave you alone here, I won't." He insisted. "Not even for a moment."

Merlin looked around the best he could. He noticed the crowded tavern and all the fighting, blood stains, spilled mead, and broken furniture. Not to mention the few bodies lying around. To be honest, Merlin didn't want to be left alone either.

He looked over at Gwaine again, and a small sense of determination settled in his mind. He would help Gwaine, even if nobody else would.

With just a thought, Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the man, who was just about to deliver a final punch to Gwaine's bloody face, fell backwards. He hit his head hard on a nearby chair and didn't get back up.

Merlin never kept his eyes off Gwaine as Alex shepherded him out of the tavern. He'd be damned if he lost Gwaine, he'd already lost one brother, he didn't need to lose another.

It was during their walk back to the castle when Merlin heard the scream.

"Fire! Fire!"

He quickly turned his head around and stared with wide eyes as smoke rose from the building.

Sure enough, The Rising Sun was on fire.

Merlin pushed his way out of Alex's grasp and started running towards the tavern.

"Merlin!" He called after him, "Merlin stop!"

"My friends are in there!" The warlock screamed back, keeping his eyes on the entrance as he got closer. "And so are yours!"

It was obviously the adrenaline pumping through his veins that kept him going and running at speeds like that. Perhaps maybe it was his magic too. He didn't really know, nor did he care at the moment.

As he neared he kept pushing aside people who got in his way. It was chaotic and civilians were rushing out the door, screaming frantically all around him.

He had just reached the door when someone grabbed his arm.

"Merlin..."

He looked up sharply and quickly jerked his hand out of the man's grasp.

"Merek." He whispered, surprised.

"No," the illusion of Merek shook his head. "Cade."

The warlock closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to gain composure. When he opened his eyes again, it was no longer his enemy who was staring back at him, but his dear friend, Cade.

"Cade." He sighed happily.

The other flashed him a quick smile before schooling his features. "No time for greetings Merlin, we've got people to save. We're knights," he reminded him, "and it's our duty."

The warlock quickly grabbed the knights wrist and pulled him Inside.

"Then let's hurry."

The moment they entered through the doors, the smoke attacked them. Their vision was blocked out by the heavy smoke and their lungs became filled with ash. They coughed almost immediately, using there hands to fan out the smoke around them, but it was useless, the smoke was to much. The heat was almost unbearable but it wasn't anything Merlin wasn't already used to.

"I need." Merlin wheezed in between coughs, "to find Gwaine."

"áscrepan," Cade quickly spoke, and suddenly the air around Merlin and the knight cleared.

The warlock took the advantage and looked around him, to his utter surprise, there was no sign of him.

"D-did you say you needed to find Gwaine?" Cade asked a little breathlessly.

"Yeah," Merlin said softly as he looked more frantically around. The fire began to envelop the walls, and still not sign of him. "But he's-"

"Not here." Cade finished for him. It was in such a knowing tone that it caused Merlin to quickly snap his gaze up to his friends.

"What? How did you-"

"I saw Matthew and Lucas grab him during the stampede." He answered before taking a quick glance around the room. "He's safe."

Merlin looked around once more, now noticing that there wasn't anyone left but them. People must have carried out those who couldn't do it themselves.

"Then why are we here?" Merlin asked with genuine curiosity.

The fire continued to spread.

"Because," Cade said as he began to walk forward, "That's why."

Merlin looked towards the direction Cade was pointing at and saw what looked to be a foot sticking out from behind the bar.

"Who is that?" He called over the crackling flames. He winced when he saw debris fall from the ceiling. When it crashed on the wooden floor sparks flew up and it immediately began to catch fire.

With just a wave of Merlin's hand, the fire was out.

"The barmaid who helped serve me." Cade answered, finally rounding the bar and crouching down, now hidden from view. "I knew the others would forget about her so I came back. She was hit from behind by oomph-"

There was an odd sound that sounded too much like something piercing flesh that drew his attention.

"Cade?" Merlin asked worriedly, beginning to walk forward towards the shoe. The smoke around the warlock immediately began to encompass him again. "Cade!"

"rýmet," an unfamiliar voice spoke.

The air began to clear again and once it had Merlin finished the remaining distance between himself and where Cade was last seen.

He took a sudden step back and gripped on to the edge of the counter. His heart rate began to speed up as his eyes scoured over a puddle of blood.

There was no sign of Cade.

"Yoo-hoo!" An unfamiliar female voice rang out. "Over here!"

Merlin turned swiftly around. The sight that met him was something he never expected to see.

Cade was on his knees with his arms hanging loosely at his sides. He stared up at Merlin with a pale, blank face, sweat dripping down his face. He looked ill, sick. But what drew his attention the most was the expanding red stain on the bottom right of his white tunic. He was bleeding profusely because he was stabbed in his lower abdomen.

"Cade," Merlin murmured as he took a step closer.

"Stay back!" The girl yelled. She yanked Cade's dirty blonde hair back, and placed the sharp blade of the bloody knife on his neck. "Stay back or he dies."

Merlin held both hands up in an attempt to calm the girl down. She was pale just like he was, her Raven black hair was tied in a braid that lay softly on her shoulder.

"Okay, okay." He spoke softly, taking another small step forward, "he is going to die if you don't let me take him to the physician."

"No!" She shrieked, now pressing the blade a little harder. A small trail of blood drizzled from the knights neck. "I said stay back!"

Cade groaned, his eyes fluttering.

"Sorry! Sorry." Merlin apologized. She wasn't the only one who was frightened.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" Her sudden change in voice had Merlin furrowing his brows in confusion. "He's going to die whether you come close or not."

Suddenly her skin began to morph and her hair began to grow shorter. Her shoulders grew wider, and her arms got stronger. It wasn't long before Merlin was looking into the eyes of someone he dreaded to see.

"Hello brother." James greeted with a mischievous smile. Cade began to squirm from James' grasp, but evidently only made the gash in his neck worse.

He cried out in pain.

"Quiet, you!" James said looking down as he scolded Cade. "I'm trying to have a nice conversation with my dear brother and your ruining it."

"James please." Merlin begged, he really didn't know what his brother was trying to do. "Let him go, it's me you want."

His brother looked up sharply. "Is it?" He spat. "What could I possibly want with the likes of you?"

"I-"

"The King wants you." James corrected him. "I just want you dead."

Merlin shook his head vehemently. "I don't believe that."

James tilted his head. "Oh?"

"I refuse to believe that." Merlin stated, glaring defiantly at James.

"What? That the king wants you?" James asked, playing dumb.

"No," Merlin shook his head. "That you want me dead."

"Hm? Oh!" His brother nodded. "Well yes, of course that's what you meant. Well," he shrugged, "hate to break it to you little bro, but I don't care whether you live or die. But! As I see you are a threat, standing in my way to Camelot's king, I must eliminate you." He tilted his head and pursed his lips as if contemplating. "It's a pity, I wish I could've had more fun with you."

That, spurred Merlin into action. He quickly raised his hand and muttered.

"Wáce- No!"

Merlin yelled just as the sickening sound of slicing flesh stopped him mid chant.

Cade's eyes were wide as he stared into Merlin's who matched his completely. Blood gushed out of the deep slit in the knights throat and onto his wife tunic that was beginning to be fully encompassed by crimson red. The sounds of his gasps and gurgling filled Merlin ears as tears fell from both of their eyes.

"No!" He screamed, making a run towards Cade only to slam into an invisible force.

Merlin shouted, kicked and banged his fists on the invisible barrier trying desperately to get to his dying friend.

"Cade! Cade!" He screeched. "Let me in you bastard!" He yelled to a grinning James, "let me in!"

He threw a couple more hits but they were useless. He eventually laid his palms flat on the barrier and slid to the ground, crying uncontrollably as he stared at his still struggling friend.

"I'd kill you myself," remarked James, "but I think the fire will do that for me. And I'd like you to feel what other magic users felt when they were sentenced to the pyre. After all, you do deserve this death Merlin. You deserve to suffer for not doing a single thing about it. All because you wanted to be good in the eyes of your king. I'm not the evil one here brother, you are."

James said a quick spell and disappeared.

Cade fell the floor at the same time a crack was heard coming from somewhere above the warlock.

Merlin looked up in time to see part of the wooden roof collapse.

He didn't have time to mutter a spell, nor did he think about it until it would've been to late. But somehow, the roof never came crashing down on him.

It was frozen in midair.

Merlin gasped and quickly looked towards his friend.

There was Cade, blood dripping from his mouth, eyes wide and hand shakily outstretched, his eyes were a beautiful gold.

A sob escaped Merlin's lips as he began to crawl over to him. The moment the warlock was in the clear, Cade's hand went slump and there was a big crash from behind him.

Merlin ignored it.

This time, there was no barrier standing in between them, and for that, Merlin was grateful.

When he reached him, Merlin cradled Cade's head and held it in his arms as he brushed away the bangs off his forehead.

"Sh, shh." Merlin said, rocking him back and forth while caressing his pale cheek. "It's alright, Cade, it's okay, I can save you."

Merlin hesitantly put his hand over Cade's throat and muttered a healing spell, pouring everything he had into the wound.

"hælbære."

He opened his eyes and smiled down when he saw gold shine over the slit before sealing shut. Only blood remained.

Merlin breathed heavily and laughed breathlessly.

"Cade, cade your fine now! I healed you."

His smile suddenly slipped from his face when he looked at Cade's face and saw that his eyes were closed and his body was slack. It was only then that he remembered the stab wound in his stomach.

"Cade?" He whimpered. "Cade!" He shook the knight a little. When there was no response, another cry escaped from Merlin's lips.

"No, no, no, no, no." He whispered.

Merlin's magic was probably the only thing holding up the tavern they were in, and it wasn't helping that he was getting weaker by the minute.

In a last, desperate decision, Merlin grabbed the pocket knife that he kept strapped to his ankle and pulled it out. As he looked at the shiny blade, a memory from Arudus resurfaced.

* * *

 _It was quiet in the forest. The only sounds were coming from the crickets, and the occasional hoot of an owl. That was, until Merlin heard a screeching noise._

 _It didn't sound human, that was for sure. As the sound got louder and louder, his heart beat faster and faster. This noise could draw attention, he could get caught and who knows what King Edward would do to him._

 _He looked up when there was rustling in the trees above. He spun around and tried to find out which direction the thing was coming from. It wasn't long before something shot out of the tree and landed on the ground before him._

 _It was a bird withering on the ground, squawking as if in dire need of attention._

 _The ever physician that Merlin was took over instantly. He knelt down and assessed the bird for injuries. There, on its right wing was blood. Judging from the way the bird crashed to the ground told Merlin that it could no longer fly._

 _The warlock reached down with a hesitant hand to comfort the bird, perhaps to use magic to relieve it's pain, or even heal the bird. His hand stopped, hovering over the bird as his eyes focused on the silver bracelet on his wrist. He cursed inwardly at the sight of the thing._

 _Merlin didn't have time to retreat his hand before the bird gave one last squawk. Not from pain, but from delight. He immediately felt the sting of pain as the bird pierced his flesh with its beak. The warlock slowly moved his hand back, trying hard not to hurt the bird worse, but the bird had clamped on the skin of his hand with a strong grip. He felt the sting grow worse when there was a slippery texture on his new bleeding wounds._

 _The bird was drinking his blood._

 _"Off! Off!" Merlin shrieked, now shaking his hand violently. "shoo!"_

 _That only made the bird bite down harder causing Merlin to yelp in pain._

 _He finally relented and relaxed his hand for a moment, watching as the birds head bobbed back and forth as it sucked his blood._

 _A soft golden glow suddenly started to appear from inside the bird's injured wing._

 _"What?"_

 _The light grew bigger until it's whole wing was covered in the golden aurora. As soon as it had come, it disappeared. Fading slowly back to nothing._

 _What was left of the wing was... Everything._

 _The bird finally detached itself from Merlin hand and stood up on its thin legs. It's wing was completely healed, back to normal. It ruffled its feathers once, turned to Merlin and let out a final squawk before it took off, soaring into the sky once again._

 _"Impossible," Merlin spoke softly to himself_.

* * *

The warlock took the knife in hand and cut deep into his palm, he hissed from the slight sting of pain.

He let the knife clatter to the floor as he quickly brought his hand to Cade's slack mouth.

The blood dripped out from his palm and into the sorcerer's mouth.

"Come on Cade!" Merlin said with frustration. "Drink!"

But nothing happened. Cade didn't grab his hand with both hands and drink the blood from his palm, nor did he move a muscle. He stayed absolutely still.

The warlock brought a shaky hand to his friends neck and laid his two fingers down on the still warm skin.

Merlin released a dry sob, letting his hand fall to the ground when he felt no heart beat.

He quickly bent down and gave a wet kiss to Cade's forehead before standing up.

He took one last glance before leaving behind one of his best friends, his comrade, a brother.

When he exited the tavern, he was greeted with the site of a bunch of knights and people with buckets full of water. They all stopped when Merlin emerged from the smoke.

Two people called his name out at once.

Arthur reached him first.

"Merlin!" He yelled, relief flooding his voice. "Oh thank the gods Merlin, I was so worried."

He was so out of it that he didn't realize he was being hugged until Arthur stepped back.

The King frowned slightly when he noticed the blank expression on his face

"Merlin? What is it?" He asked worriedly, he didn't wait for an answer and immediately started assessing his servant for injuries.

"Bloody hell Merlin! Your bleeding!" He spoke urgently as he glanced at the dried blood on Merlin's head and all the blood on his hands.

When the warlock finally met his kings worried eyes something inside him broke.

"He's dead." He whispered, "he's dead because of me."

Arthur searched for something in Merlin's eyes but couldn't seem to find it.

"Who is Merlin?" He asked, "who's dead?"

"He killed him." He whispered, ignoring Arthur, "I couldn't save him."

At that moment, Merlin released his magic. The tavern collapsed at the same time he fell into Arthur's arms.

He buried his face in the crook of his kings neck and held on to the front of his cloak with dear life. Arthur wrapped an arm around him and held the back of his head.

He cried as he spoke.

"C-Cade, Cade is dead."

* * *

 _ **PLEASE REVIEW!**_


End file.
